Portable dishwasher



ec- 1968 J. M. VALDESPINO 3,419,023

PORTABLE DISHWASHER I Filed Nov. 1. 1966 Sheet INVENTOR J06 M V/ILDASP/AO Dec. 3 1968 J. M. VALDESPINO 3,

PORTABLE DISHWASHER Filed Nov. 1, 1966 Sheet. 2 of 2 INVENTOR (70f M'- WIZDLS'P/NO United States Patent 3,419,023 PORTABLE DISHWASHER Joe M. Valdespino, 5023 Golf Club Parkway, Orlando, Fla. 32808 Filed Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,178 3 Claims. (Cl. 134-101) This invention relates to the cleaning and sterilizing of articles and particularly to a portable dishwasher for cleaning dishware and eating utensils used in the consumption of food, as well as receptacles for various fluids such as chemicals, acids, caustic agents and other materials.

Heretofore dishwashers of many kinds have been in general use and these dishwashers have included both portable as Well as permanently installed units. The portable dishwashers normally have been relatively large machines mounted on rollers or casters and connectable to a hot water supply such as the faucet of a sink or the like and have included motor-driven pumps which have forced hot water under pressure through a sprinkler head rotating in a generally horizontal direction. These portable dishwashers have been heavy, bulky and unwieldly and have been subjected to movement across the supporting floor or other structure due to the vibrations set up by the motor and pump. Also these prior art dishwashers have been expensive to produce and maintain, have required an excessive amount of hot water and for other reasons have not proved entirely satisfactory.

It is an object of the invention to provide a relatively small portable dishwasher which can be mounted on a drainboard or other surface adjacent to a sink, and provided with a drain for discharging water into such sink, as well as a flexible line connectable to the hot water faucet thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable dishwasher having a reaction type rotor which will be caused to rotate by water pressure from a water line having a venturi type aspirator for increasing the velocity of the water being discharged from the rotor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a portable dishwasher having a reaction type rotor connected to a source of supply and having a venturi type aspirator in such water line with means by which at least part of the hot water within the dishwasher can be recirculated through the rotor when desired to reduce the volume of hot water required to thoroughly clean and sterilize the articles within the dishwasher.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention in use;

FIG. 2, a horizontal section on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, a vertical section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4, a vertical section on the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5, an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6, an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 7, an enlarged fragmentary perspective of the water inlet pipe.

With continued reference to the drawings the portable dishwasher of the present invention includes a housing 10 having side walls 11 and 12, end walls 13 and 14, and a bottom wall 15. As illustrated the housing 10 is constructed of sheet metal, however, any other suitable material could be used and if desired the housing could be made of double wall construction with insulation between such walls.

A top 16 may be mounted on the housing 10 in any desired manner, as by means of hinges 17 so that dishware 3,419,023 Patented Dec. 31, 1968 a sink or other receptacle into which water from the housing can be discharged.

In order to introduce water under pressure into the housing 10 a header 21 is provided having one end threadedly received within a mounting boss 22 on the side Wall 11 and the opposite end of such header is threadedly received Within a venturi aspirator 23 mounted on the side wall 12. The aspirator 23 includes a body 24 having a generally cylindrical inlet portion 25 connected by a tapered converging portion 26 to a reduced constricted throat 27. The throat terminates in an outwardly diverging frusto-conical portion 28 with an orifice 29 providing communication between the diverging portion 28 and the exterior of the body. A flexible hose or pipe 30 is connected at one end to the body 24 and the opposite end is connected by a rubber coupling 31 to a faucet 32 of a conventional sink 33 or other source of hot water under pressure.

The header 21 has one or more elongated slots 34 along which water is discharged from the header into a reaction type rotor 35 which includes a hollow body 36 generally elliptical in cross-section. End members 37 are disposed at opposite ends of the body 36 and such end members include outwardly extending generally cylindrical portions 38, each of which has an internal bearing 39 by means of which the body 36 is rotatably mounted on the header 21.

In order to produce rotation of the rotor 35, the body 36 is provided with a plurality of openings 40 providing communication between the interior and the exterior of said body generally tangentially to the arc at the end of the major axis of the ellipse. One group of openings is disposed on one side of the body 36 adjacent one end of the ellipse and a second group of openings is disposed on the opposite side of such body at the opposite end thereof. With this construction water introduced into the body from the header 21 will be discharged through the openings 40 in opposite directions and the reaction to such discharge will cause the rotor to rotate on the bearings 39. As the rotor rotates a plurality of streams of water will be projected through the openings and such streams of water will impinge upon the plates and other dishware. Due to the angularity of such dishware the major force will be directed against the front of the dishes to remove particles of food and other substances from such dishes. Water which impinges on the plates and bounces off will clean the bottoms of the next adjacent dishes.

To assist in the cleaning of the dishware a soap container 42 is mounted on the side of the housing 10. Liquid soap or other cleansing agent is adapted to be placed within the container 42 and discharged therefrom through a line 43 connected to the aspirator body 24 and in communication with the orifice 29. Flow of material through the line 43 can be controlled by a valve 44. When the valve 44 is open the flow of water through the aspirator 23 will create a partial vacuum through the orifice 29 and the line 43 to draw the liquid soap out of the container 42. After the soap has been evacuaetd, air under atmospheric pressure will be drawn through the line 43 and will be entrained in the water being discharged through the aspirator to accelerate the flow of water and thereby increase the speed of rotation of the rotor 35 and the pressure of the water being discharged therefrom.

Water which has been discharged from the rotor 35 will fall to the bottom of the housing and run downhill to the drain 20. It is desirable to recirculate at least a portion of the hot water prior to discharging the same and in order to do this a sump 45 is located in the bottom wall and such sump may be covered by a screen or the like 46 to exclude particles of food and other undesirable matter. The sump 45 is connected by a line 47 to the line 43 so that the partial vacuum within the aspirator 23 will draw the liquid upwardly into such aspirator when the valve 44 is closed. In this manner some of the hot water may be recirculated through the rotor to reduce the amount of hot water required from the faucet 32.

In the operation of the device the housing 10 is placed on the drainboard of the sink 33 and the flexible hose 30 is connected to the hot water faucet or to any convenient source of hot water under pressure. When the faucet is turned on the hot Water will flow through the flexible hose and through the venturi type aspirator 23 and then into the header 21. The water is discharged from the header through the slots 34 into the reaction type elliptical rotor 35 from which it is discharged through the openings 40. The discharging of the water through the openings will cause the rotor to rotate about the header 21 and cause the water to impinge upon the dishware and eating utensils carried within the rack members 19. A predetermined amount of soap, which preferably is in liquid form, is placed within the container 42 and the valve 44 is opened so that water passing through the aspirator will create a partial vacuum within the line 43 and will draw the soap from the container and entrain such soap in the water being discharged through the rotor. After the soap has been exhausted from the container the valve may be left open to introduce air under atmospheric pressure into the water entering the header 21, or if desired the valve may be closed so that water which has been collected within the housing can be recirculated through the aspirator. In practice it has been found that this structure will thoroughly clean and at least partially sterilize dishware and eating utensils carried on the rack 19 in approximately 10 to 12 minutes.

It will be apparent that a small electrically operated pump can be substituted for the faucet. to draw water from a nonpressurized chamber, or a small pump could be inserted within the flexible hose 30 to increase the pressure of the water supply. Also it will be noted that the above structure could be installed as a permanent structure and that the flow of Water could be regulated by conventional timing mechanisms, flow meters or other devices not shown.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable dishwasher for washing dishware and eating utensils comprising a housing, rack means within said housing, a header fixed generally centrally of said housing and extending from side to side thereof, a venturi type aspirator connected to one end of said header, means for supplying water under pressure to said aspirator, a generally elliptical reaction type rotor rotatably mounted on said header, said rotor having a plurality of openings disposed along opposite sides thereof and providing communication between the interior and the exterior of said rotor, said aspirator having an inlet portion connected to a reduced constricted throat terminating in an outwardly diverging portion and having an orifice providing communication between said outwardly diverging portion and the exterior of said aspirator, a fluid line connected to said aspirator in communication with said orifice, a soap container mounted on said housing and in communication with said fluid line, drain means for said housing, sump means in the bottom wall of said housing, and a second fluid line connecting said sump means with said first mentioned fluid line, whereby water can be recirculated by said aspirator through said rotor.

2. A dishwasher comprising a housing, means for supporting articles to be cleaned within said housing, header means mounted within said housing, a venturi type aspirator connected at one end to said header means and at the other end to a source of water under pressure, said aspirator having an inlet portion, a reduced throat and a discharge portion with an orifice providing communication between said discharge portion and the exterior of said aspirator, a reaction type rotor rotatably mounted on said header, means for discharging water from said header into said rotor means for discharging water from said rotor in a manner to cause rotation of said rotor, sump means in said housing, and conduit means operatively connecting said sump means with the orifice of said aspirator for recirculating water through the same.

3. The structure of claim 2 including a soap receptacle on said housing with means communicating with the orifice of said aspirator.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,176,125 3/1916 Benedict 134-479 1,477,903 12/1923 Rosenbaum 134-179 2,536,208 1/1951 Nystrom 134l02 XR 2,788,008 4/1957 Wanzer 134102 XR 3,062,188 11/ 1962 ODay 134100 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 495,226 8/ 1953 Canada. 924,853 3/ 1955 Germany.

ROBERT L. BLEUTGE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

2. A DISHWASHER COMPRISING A HOUSING, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING ARTICLES TO BE CLEANED WITHIN SAID HOUSING, HEADER MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING, A VENTURI TYPE ASPIRATOR CONNECTED AT ONE END OT SAID HEADER MEANS AND AT THE OTHER END TO A SOURCE OF WATER UNDER PRESSURE, SAID ASPIRATOR HAVING AN INLET PORTION, A REDUCED THROAT AND A DISCHARGE PORTION WTH AN ORIFICE PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID DISCHARGE PORTION AND THE EXTERIOR OF SAID ASPIRATOR, A REACTION TYPE ROTOR ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID HEADER, MEANS FOR DISCHARGING WATER FROM SAID HEADER INTO SAID ROTOR MEANS FOR DISCHARGING WATER FROM SAID ROTOR IN A MANNER TO CAUSE ROTATION OF SAID ROTOR, SUMP MEANS IN SAID HOUSING, AND CONDUIT MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID SUMP MEANS WITH THE ORIFICE OF SAID ASPIRATOR FOR RECIRCULATING WATER THROUGH THE SAME. 